


Now You See Me

by PicassoPickle



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Happy Ending, Light Angst, M/M, Mavin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-10
Updated: 2014-11-11
Packaged: 2018-02-24 19:11:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2593031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PicassoPickle/pseuds/PicassoPickle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gavin wakes up one morning to find himself invisible. He has no idea how or why, but his friends believe he has been kidnapped, presumed dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gavin had woken late, which was unusual when he had an alarm that usually woke him up at 8 o’clock every day. Sitting up in bed, Gavin checked the time and swore under his breath. These were the days he wished he was still living with Geoff to get his arse out of bed for him.

Scrambling out of bed, Gavin quickly got ready. He was already two hours late, and it would take him twenty minutes to walk in. On days like this, Gavin really wished he had a license. 

Not wasting time eating breakfast, the British lad made his way out the front door and out of his apartment block. Living alone was often very lonely and quiet. Gav missed the days he, Geoff and Griffon would spend the evening getting progressively more drunk, then cradling a godawful hangover in the morning.

Nothing seemed unusual about today. At least, Gavin thought so.

He arrived at the Rooster Teeth offices at 11:17am. Bollocks.

Gavin greeted Kara on the way in, and smiled tiredly at her. However, he was thoroughly surprised when she completely ignored him. Frowning, the lad walked towards the Achievement Hunter office, wondering how to prepare a good enough reason for being over two hours late on a busy scheduled day. 

The door was wide open and everyone was sat at their computers. Gavin sighed and slid his rucksack off of his shoulders.

“Before you yell at me, I have a really, really good excuse for why I am so late!” Gavin began, still trying to formulate a plan in his head.

Geoff still had his eyes glued to the screen, fingers idly twirling his ridiculously long moustache. Gavin blinked. He didn’t have his headphones on, and yet it seemed Geoff was completely ignoring him. It wouldn’t be the first time the gent had done something so childish, but no one had even acknowledged his existence when he’d walked through the door, which was peculiar.

“Geoff?” Gavin tried again, walking over to him and poking him in the arm. Geoff didn’t even flinch.

Looking around the rest of the room, it seemed no one had noticed Gavin’s tardy entrance. Michael and Ray were talking quietly, Ryan was busy editing a video and Jack was scrolling through twitter. 

“Guys, this isn’t funny! I know I’m late, but there’s no need to ignore me!” Gavin threw up his hands and glared at his colleagues. Nothing.

Feeling uneasy, Gavin slid out of the room and into the main hallway. Burnie was just exiting his office with a folder in his hand. Gavin ran in front of him, and began babbling at him, hoping he’s sort the boys out, “Burnie! The guys in the office are ignoring m-“

Gavin was cut off as Burnie walked right through him. The words died on his lips as he felt Burnie’s body literally pass through his. Choking, Gavin turned around to watch Burnie walk off without so much of a glance towards him.

“Oh bloody hell…” Gavin muttered. This wasn’t something to freak out over, right? He must be dreaming. The only logical explanation was that Gavin was having a dream, and now he realised he was dreaming, he could get himself out of it. Gavin decided to pinch himself, like they did in the movies, to prove his point. However, all the pinch did was hurt. Perhaps the dream was that realistic? 

Sighing, Gavin walked back into the office and sat down on the sofa, watching as the lads and gents got on with their day. Grabbing his phone from his pocket, Gavin went through his contacts until he found Geoff’s number. It was worth a try, wasn’t it?

Dialling, Gavin put the phone up to his ear. Geoff’s phone was on his desk when it started to ring. Geoff stopped what he was doing and looked at his phone.

“Looks like that asshole had finally decided to wake up,” Geoff chuckled, before putting his phone to his ear, “Hey Gav, where the fuck are you?”

Gavin began to babble then, trying to explain that he was sitting on the smegging sofa behind him. However Geoff pulled the phone away from his ear and frowned.

“What’s up?” Ryan asked, watching as Geoff tried to put the phone to his ear again.

“Can’t hear anything. It’s just background noise,” Geoff replied, before finally ringing off.

“No! Geoff! I’m right bloody here!” Gavin shouted, losing his patience.

“Maybe he lost signal,” Jack supplied, shrugging. Gavin growled in frustration.

* * *

For the rest of the day, Gavin decided to experiment with his ‘invisibility’. He poked and prodded his workmates, he picked up various objects to wave in front of their face, and he tried turning their computers off. Nothing. It was as though everything he did had no effect whatsoever on his friends. 

By the time lunch was over, he could tell the gents and lads were starting to get restless without Gavin there.

“Damnit, Geoff. Where the hell is Gavin? He hasn’t edited this Minecraft video yet, and we have a Let’s Play and three Go!’s to film today!” Michael growled, and Geoff stared down worriedly at his phone.

Gavin had tried ringing Geoff’s phone four more times, and he could tell Geoff was starting to get concerned. Every single time Geoff picked up, he could hear nothing but noise on the other end.

“Maybe we should go to his apartment and check?” Ryan suggested sensibly.

“Maybe he’s fallen in the bath and can’t get out,” Ray joked.

“Okay, Ryan and Michael, you go check out Gavin’s place. Call me if you find him.” Geoff instructed, spinning back around on his chair.

Ryan and Michael stood up and headed out of the office and into the car park. Gavin eagerly followed them. It suddenly occurred to him that maybe he was still at the apartment. What if- no. No, he couldn’t be. But… it happened in the movies. People died, right? And then they came back as a ghost. What if Gavin was a _ghost_ now?

Gavin shuddered at the thought as he climbed into the car after Michael and watched as Ryan got into the driver’s seat. 

Maybe he had died in his sleep. Maybe he was a corpse in his bed. _No._

Gavin shook the thought away, suddenly feeling very sick. He couldn’t be dead. It was impossible. 

The drive was uneventful. Michael and Ryan didn’t seem too worried that Gavin hadn’t come into work. They joked that maybe he had a hangover and was trying to sleep it off. They explained the weird calls to Geoff by Gavin accidentally sitting on his phone. Gavin sighed, and wished that was the case.

They pulled up outside Gavin’s apartment block and they all got out of the car. Gavin followed them into the lobby and then the elevator, before riding up to the third floor.

“What number does he live in?” Ryan asked.

“Three-one-five,” Michael replied, going down the corridor to Gavin’s flat.

Gavin’s blood ran cold when he saw that the door was unlocked. 

_I locked it! I definitely locked it this morning!_ Gavin thought frantically as Michael shared a worried look with Ryan.

Michael went in first, pushing the door open. The apartment was met with silence.

“Gav?” Michael called, poking his head through the door of the bedroom. The bed was unmade and looked slept in, but there was no dead body like Gavin was hoping not to see. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Ryan was still in the hallway, staring at the bowl next to the door, with Gavin’s keys still in them.

“Michael. These are his keys,” Ryan called, and Michael appeared from around the door, “It’s like he left in a hurry. He didn’t even lock the door…”

Michael chewed on his bottom lip, before going to the door and checking for signs of forced entrance. 

“Doesn’t look like the lock is broken. Someone opened this door without having to force it.”

Ryan pulled out his phone and dialled Geoff’s number.

“This is weird,” Ryan said to Michael as it was ringing, “As dumb as Gavin can be, this is unlike him.”

Michael looked a little pale as he leaned against the wall.

Gavin watched, feeling sicker and sicker, as Ryan begun to talk to Geoff, “Hey Geoff. Something weird is going on.” Pause. “Gav’s door was unlocked.” Pause. “No, he left his keys here. Nothing out of place. Just… Gavin isn’t here.” Pause. “Okay. I’ll try calling it. We’ll be back in the office soon.”

Ryan finished his call and Michael was watching him like a hawk.

“He said we should call Gavin. He was calling Geoff all morning. Maybe he’ll pick up.” Ryan said, before dialling Gavin’s number.

Gavin heard his phone in his pocket and immediately brought it out and stared at Ryan’s number popping up at him. However, it looked as though neither Michael nor Ryan could hear his phone like Gavin could. Gavin swiped the phone to answer the call and put it to his ear.

“Gav?” Ryan asked worriedly, “Gav, where are you? We’re at your apartment.”

“Ryan, please. Can you hear me?” Gavin tried desperately, clutching at his phone in hopes that Ryan would hear him.

There was a long pause and Ryan sighed.

“Nothing. Just background noise.”

Michael began to pace, “Why is he picking up? Where the fuck is he if he can pick up but can’t talk? What the hell is going on?!” His voice was gradually rising as Michael got more and more worked up. Ryan put out his arms to placate him.

“There may be a completely reasonable explanation for this. We need to get back to Geoff,” Ryan’s voice betrayed his worry.

“Shouldn’t we be calling the fucking cops? He is _missing_ , damnit!” Michael argued.

“The police won’t give a shit right now. He’s been missing less than twenty-four hours. C’mon, Michael. Let’s just get back to the office.”

The ride back to the office was a lot more sombre. Gavin stared down at his phone as a text suddenly came through. 

**Michael Jones**  
 _Where are you?? Went to your apartment, door was unlocked. You ok?_

Gavin swallowed thickly, before trying to type out a reply. 

**Gavin Free**  
 _Idk what’s going on. Can you read this?_

Gavin hit send, and a second late, Michael’s phone beeped. Gavin let out a sigh of relief, before he heard Michael’s reply.

“Fuck. Gavin just sent me a blank text. What the _fuck_ , Ryan?”

“No no no!” Gavin shouted in frustration, hitting his head on the seat behind him.

Ryan’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, “Something weird is going on. Maybe… maybe Gavin’s in trouble.”

The rest of the car journey was silent as the two of them worried about Gavin’s whereabouts. Gavin felt awful at putting his friends through this. He had no idea how to communicate with them. If only he knew what was going on.

 _Maybe I’m still dead,_ Gavin thought idly. Perhaps someone had murdered him last night and hidden the body. Maybe he was just haunting his friends now. Gavin liked to think that he’d be able to remember a murder if that had happened. Last night, all Gavin remembered was watching TV before going to bed. No one had turned up at his apartment and _killed_ him, damnit.

Once the boys had arrived back at the offices, Gavin followed them into their main office, where Geoff, Ray and Jack were waiting.

They slowly explained everything that had happened while they were at the apartment. Michael even showed them the blank text Gavin had sent.

“Do you think Gavin’s in trouble?” Ray asked, rubbing at his arms nervously. 

“I’ll be okay, Ray,” Gavin whispered from behind him, resting a hand on his shoulder. Ray gave no inclination that he’d felt Gav’s touch.

“It’s starting to look like something serious has happened. Let’s try and contact people he knew and may have spoken to last night,” Geoff said, trying to be calm and collected about this.

They got to work. They tried messaging or calling anyone that Gavin knew, including his friends and family in England. Gavin watched from the sofa, feeling awful. Geoff had let the rest of Rooster Teeth know, and the entire office was probing the disappearance. Someone was already on the phone to the police to explain what has happened.

The police arrived and spoke to the last people that saw him.

Gavin had been working late last night and was one of the last in the office to leave. The only other person to be in the offices at the same time had been Barbarba, so she was the first person to talk to. He watched and listened as the police spoke to Barb.

“Did anything seem strange at all? Did Gavin seem upset? Unstable?”

Barb shook her head vehemently, “I don’t know what you’re trying to imply, but Gavin was absolutely fine. He wasn’t suicidal. He wasn’t a flight risk. He was happy last night. He even said “See you tomorrow, Barb.” That doesn’t sound like a guy planning not to come in the next day, does it?”

The police wrote on their notepad, and Gavin’s heart swelled for Barbara. She was keeping her cool, although Gavin could see how hurt she was feeling. They were good friends, and Gavin wished he could give her a hug and tell her everything was going to be okay.

Eventually, they’d got their statements and stood to leave. As they were leaving, they informed the Rooster Teeth employees that they would look into it.

“Fucking _shit_ ,” Michael snarled once they’d left, “They’re fucking useless! They think Gavin’s just walked off somewhere, _with his doors unlocked_. Gav’s thick as shit sometimes, but he wouldn’t do that!”

“And they thought he could’ve just jumped off nearest bridge,” Ray growled, “They act as though it could be a possible route to go down. They haven’t got a clue.”

“Not to mention they don’t give a shit until Gav’s been missing for at least twenty-four hours,” Jack grumbled from his chair.

Gavin couldn’t stand watching his friends worry about him like this. Filming anymore videos had been cancelled. No one was up for gaming when Gavin was missing. 

The end of the day came and Gavin suddenly didn’t want to go back to his apartment alone. Instead, he decided to go home with Michael. He followed Michael out to his car and slipped into the passenger seat. 

“It’ll be okay, Micool,” Gavin whispered, placing his hand over Michael’s for a second on the wheel. 

Michael kept his eyes on the road, but Gavin could see he was tense. His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so hard. By the time Michael reached his apartment, Gavin swore he could see his eyes were a little shiny.

“You don’t need to cry,” Gavin spoke again, hoping that something would get through, “I’ll be okay. I always am.”

Michael lifted his glasses from his face and wiped the unshed tears from his eyes with the back of his hand. Sniffing and composing himself, Michael got out of his car and headed into his apartment block. Gavin closely followed.

Once they were inside the apartment, Michael went straight to the couch and sat on it. He slowly leaned forward, pressing his head into the palms of his hand. Gavin sat beside him and watched as Michael took heavy, deep breaths. 

“Godamnit, Gavin,” Michael breathed, taking off his glasses and wiping his eyes again. 

They sat there, Michael with his head in his hands, Gavin lightly resting his hand on his back. He wasn’t sure how long Michael had been sitting there, but it had been a bloody long time. 

Michael suddenly sat up and brought out his phone. Gavin watched as Michael went into his recently called list and dialled Gavin’s number. Gavin groaned. How many times would they have to call him before they realised he couldn’t talk to them? Gavin heard his phone in his pocket ring, and he brought it out to answer.

Michael held his breath as Gavin answered.

“Gav. I don’t know if you can hear me, or- or if someone has your phone. Either way. Please come home. You’re scaring the shit out of us. We miss you, boi.”

Michael put his phone on the table and Gavin sighed, pocketing his phone once more. 

“I’m so sorry, Micool,” Gavin replied.

The rest of the evening was filled with comfortable silence. Michael didn’t talk to himself like Gavin often did when he was pottering about in his apartment. Other than the few curses when he burnt himself cooking bacon, he was silent. Every so often, he would go back to his phone to check on any missed calls or texts, but nothing came.

It occurred to Gavin that being invisible did have its benefits. He could spy on all his friends and see what they did when they thought no one was watching. However, Gavin really wasn’t in the mood to see Michael’s shower routine. Instead, he lay on the couch and waited for his friend to be done. Then afterwards, he watched as Michael loaded up his Xbox and played some games.

As a ghost, or whatever he was, Gavin realised he still needed to sleep. It was nearing midnight when Gavin was starting to feel tired. He yawned and plodded into Michael’s bedroom. Rubbing at his eyes, Gavin wondered whether Michael would mind if he had a kip in his bed. It was a decent sized bed, and Gavin was only little. Slipping off his clothes so he was only in his underwear, Gavin lay down on the mattress and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

When Gavin had woken the morning after, he had hoped that everything would be back to normal. Even if he was caught sleeping half naked in Michael’s bed, he didn’t care. He just wanted to be seen.

No such luck.

Gavin had woken to Michael quietly snoring beside him in bed. Gavin had crept out of bed and headed to the kitchen. It seemed, although Gavin needed sleep, he didn’t need to eat. His stomach was content, and so he didn’t need to raid Michael’s cupboards for breakfast.

When Michael had lazily come out of his bedroom, tiredly rubbing at his eyes, Gavin held his breath.

“Michael?” Gavin asked hopefully.

There was no reply as Michael grabbed some cereal and milk to eat his breakfast.

Damnit.

They then made their way to work, and Michael walked into the Achievement Hunter office, hoping there was any more news.

“Police have found fuck all,” Geoff said to his team, “They tried ringing Gav’s number, but it looks like it has now run out of battery. Everything is going straight to voicemail.”

Gavin’s eyes widened. That had been their only way to contact him, and he’d let it run out of charge. He mentally kicked himself for being so stupid.

“So… nothing?” Ray asked miserably.

“Not a trace. They said they’ll inspect his apartment later on today, but if Michael and Ryan didn’t find anything out of the ordinary, then what the hell are they going to find?”

“How about we do a video? Asking if anyone in Austin saw Gavin the night he went missing? We have a huge fanbase. It’s worth a shot?” Ryan suggested, and Geoff looked wary.

“We’re at a big risk of trolls, but if we direct any real witnesses to the police, that should scare away any bullshitters.”

Gavin watched as they got to work writing out a basic script. He sat cross legged on the couch and just gazed at his friends. There weren’t going to be any witnesses, because Gavin was smegging invisible.

“So who is gonna be in the video?” Jack asked as they finalized the script.

“I vote Geoff,” Ryan spoke, “He has known Gavin the longest and is our boss.” The others mumbled in agreement.

The camera was set up in the office and Geoff took his place in front of it. He no longer looked like the carefree, happy Geoff that Gavin was used to in videos. Instead, he looked serious and slightly teary. The other Achievement Hunter guys stood behind the camera and watched as it began rolling.

Geoff glanced down briefly at his script, before speaking directly to the camera, “Today is not your usual Rooster Teeth or Achievement Hunter video. There will be no jokes or laughs in this video. We have some very saddening news to report to our fans, and we hope that some of you can help us,” Geoff took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were glistening with tears, “Two days ago Gavin Free went missing. We have had no contact with him since Tuesday and we are extremely worried. We are appealing for information any of you fans in Austin may have. If you have seen Gavin, or think you may have seen Gavin, please contact the Austin police force to work with them to try and find him.”

Gavin wiped away a tear that had escaped.

“Gavin, if you are somehow watching this, please come home. We miss you, buddy.”

“Cut!”

Geoff went to the couch and rested his head in his hands, much like Michael had done the night before.

“You okay, Geoff?” Michael asked, and Geoff shook his head.

“He’d be laughing at how cut up we all are looking for him,” Geoff said with a watery smile.

“No I wouldn’t.” Gavin said quietly, pouting at the thought. It was painful to see his friends worrying so much.

Unfortunately, the guys still had to work. Recording videos without Gavin there felt wrong, and everyone could feel the gaping hole he left behind. Everyone seemed lost without Gavin.

The guys uploaded the appeal video for Gavin as quickly as possible, on both the Rooster Teeth and the Let’s Play channel. Many of them refrained from reading the comments. If anyone had any real information, they would go to the police about it.

It became clear very quickly that Gavin was going to get bored of being invisible. He loved to talk. He loved to play pranks. He loved to pester his friends. With all of that taken away from him, he was forced to just watch and listen to them. Fair enough, when they recorded a video, it was sometimes fun to listen in. However, when the room was filled with stifling silence, with the occasional click of the mouse, Gavin felt himself go mad.

Every so often, Gavin would stand to stretch his legs, and look around the rest of the offices. Everything was so dull when he was stuck like this. He felt like a lost puppy. 

The worst part of the day was when he caught Geoff calling his parents to report his disappearance. Gavin’s heart seized in his throat as Gavin’s father picked up the phone. Gavin couldn’t hear the conversation, but Geoff seemed to be struggling to control his own emotions. His parents would be worried sick and they could do nothing but sit tight and hope their baby would come home.

Gavin felt guilt ridden. He knew it wasn’t his fault he was invisible. He knew it wasn’t his fault he was causing so much grief. However, he couldn’t help but feel responsible. It was him they were all looking for, and if he didn’t reappear soon, people would start to suspect he was dead.

The day ended and Gavin felt even worse.

Today he travelled home with Ryan. He didn’t think he could bear Michael another night, and Geoff was too much of a mess to follow home. Ryan seemed to keep his cool, but Gavin could still tell he was worried sick.

However, unlike Michael, Ryan held it all in. He arrived back at his house and Gavin followed him through the front door. Ryan quickly got to work cooking dinner. He seemed keen to distract himself from his thoughts. As soon as dinner was over, Ryan was busy sorting through mail and then browsing the internet on his computer.

Gavin watched over his shoulder as Ryan went on a local news page. Gavin’s smiling face suddenly popped up on the browser. He heard Ryan’s sharp intake of breath. The gent hesitated, before clicking the link and reading the article. Gavin couldn’t bear to read the whole thing, but there was nothing new. No new sightings, no suspicious activity in the apartment, no cell phone. 

“God, Gavin,” Ryan muttered, “If you’re dead, I’m gonna kill you.” The joke fell flat as Ryan powered down his computer and went to the bathroom to wash and get ready for bed.

Gavin sat down heavily. This wasn’t getting any better.

* * *

The next few days got progressively worse. The police found nothing. They had no leads, no evidence, nothing. Gavin had completely vanished. Gavin watched as everyone slowly went mad. 

Gavin watched as Geoff began break down and sob uncontrollably as he edited an old video of theirs.

Gavin watched as Michael punched a wall outside, and then as Ray took him to hospital with fractured fingers.

Gavin watched as Ray got increasingly quieter until he didn’t say a single word to anyone.

Gavin watched as Jack excused himself from the office to the toilets and didn’t come back for a solid twenty minutes, red-eyes and sniffly.

Gavin watched as Ryan sent text after text to Gavin’s dead phone, asking him to come home. 

Every day was worse than the day before. His friends were slowly admitting that maybe Gavin wasn’t going to come back. The police were starting to say stuff like “premeditated murder” and “searching the river banks” to them. Within the past few days, Gavin had seen nearly every member of Rooster Teeth shed a tear for him.

However the searches for his body were fruitless. 

Until a week later, Geoff got a phone call.

The Achievement Hunters no longer jumped in hope and anticipation when Geoff’s phone rang. Instead, Geoff lazily picked up the phone, not expecting a police officer on the other end.

“Hello? …Yes I am Mr. Ramsey…” Geoff said, looking pale, “You… did?” Pause. “Is it him?”

Every head in the room shot up.

“Okay. Okay. Keep me notified. Thank you.” Geoff’s voice was faint, and Gavin stared as Geoff slowly unravelled.

“Geoff?” Ryan asked frantically, trying to calm the crying man, “Geoff what is it? Is it Gavin?” 

Geoff looked up to meet Ryan’s eyes, “They’ve found a body.”


	2. Chapter 2

Gavin’s world was spinning out of control. Body. They had found a body. The voices around him were muffled, undistinguishable. It felt as though his whole body had been plunged underwater. He wanted to be sick, but his body no longer worked like that. He sat down heavily on the sofa and blinked away a few tears that had formed.

“-ot be him though, right?”

Gavin blinked, his ears trying to focus on the words his colleagues were saying to each other.

“Well they need to check the dental records. I don’t know. But they said it could be him. They said… they said the body had… it was the right amount of…” Geoff trailed off, “They said it looked like it was relatively recent. They told me I might have to go formally identify the body if the dental records don’t come up with anything.”

Gavin let out a shaky breath. It might not be him. _It might not be him._ The thought of Geoff going to identify his body made him feel sick to the core. He couldn’t do that to Geoff.

“But if they called you. Surely they wouldn’t tell you that without formally checking?” Ray asked. It seemed cruel to tell someone they had found a body, but it was only a hunch that it may be their deceased friend.

Geoff seemed to get even paler, “They said the… the body looked the right age. Height. Structure. I don’t know, Ray. I just don’t know.”

“I’m not dead,” Gavin whispered vehemently, “I’m not bloody dead!”

The rest of the day was filled with a tense silence. No one wanted to make a video, and everyone waited with bated breath for Geoff’s phone to ring. 

The phone call came at 5 o’clock in the evening, when everyone was exhausted. Geoff stared at the phone for a few seconds, not wanting to pick it up in case it was the news they were all dreading.

“Geoff?” Jack prompted, causing Geoff’s hand to move into action.

“Hello?” Geoff said quietly, “Yes this is Mr. Ramsey.” Pause. “I don’t understand…” Another pause. “You called me this morning telling me you found a body that was _probably_ him, and now you’re telling me you got it wrong?!” Geoff’s voice was rising, but everyone suddenly let out a sigh of relief, “No, you listen to me! How dare you tell me such a _sick_ thing without any proof. I have been worried as dicks about this! Fuck you.”

Geoff rang off and threw his phone down.

“It wasn’t him?” Michael clarified with relief.

“No. Some other dude. No idea who he was. But it isn’t Gavin. It’s not fucking Gavin. That was a sick fucking joke to play.”

Whilst everyone was relieved, Gavin noted that they all still looked worried. Of course, that didn’t mean Gavin’s undiscovered body wasn’t out there somewhere. He was still missing to them. No trace.

-

Days turned into weeks. Weeks with no contact from Gavin and no news from the police. Gavin went home with different people every night, watching their routine when no one was around. He didn’t like spying on people, but he hated being alone in his apartment. Sometimes Gavin would talk to them. He just spoke the first stuff that came into his head. It would fill the silence and would make Gavin feel a little less lonely.

One night he was at Michael’s apartment, talking like he usually did, about useless, irrelevant stuff.

Michael was playing on his Xbox when Gavin began to idly stroke along Michael’s arm. Gavin missed human contact. He only wished he could get some reciprocated touching going on.

Suddenly, as soon as Gavin’s hand touched Michael’s bare skin, the other lad froze.

Gavin froze as well.

“Michael?” Gavin whispered hopefully.

Michael’s hand went to where Gavin had just touched him, and he rubbed it. Michael frowned, looking at the other side of the couch, where Gavin was sitting. He was looking directly at Gavin.

“Micool?” Gavin asked again. Please, please, _please_!

“Godamnit,” Michael hissed under his breath, before unpausing the game and continuing.

Gavin touched him again, but this time it rendered no response. Gavin continued talking, babbling about anything. _This_ was progress. Someone had actually noticed him!

But the rest of the night was useless. Michael was either ignoring Gavin’s touches, or he could no longer feel them.

Gavin tried with the rest of the office the next morning. He squeezed Ray’s shoulders, tugged at Jack’s beard, poked Ryan’s ribs, and hugged Geoff. There was no response from any of them.

So Gavin focused all of his attention on Michael. He blew in his ear, ruffled his hair, pulled his t-shirt, tickled his stomach, stroked his back. Gavin did everything in his power for Michael to notice him. 

It was several days before something happened.

Gavin was back at Michael’s apartment, and he had basically given up trying to get Michael to notice him. Instead, he was wandering around the apartment, fiddling with bits and pieces of Michael’s furniture in boredom.

As he was walking by the dining table, Gavin accidentally tripped on a lead on the floor. He fell forward, knocking an empty glass that had been perched on the table. The glass fell to the ground with Gavin, smashing loudly.

Michael sat up in a shot, looking for the cause of the noise.

“Hello?” He called nervously, staring at the shards of glass littering the floor.

Gavin stood, watching as Michael made his way over to the mess. 

“You can see that?” Gavin asked, surprised. Gavin had tested this dozens of times by throwing pens at his colleagues in the office.

There was no reply, obviously. But Michael crouched down to the glass and then stared up at the table. The cogs were turning inside of his head, but Gavin could see he had no reasonable explanation for a glass to randomly fall from the table and onto the floor. 

“What the fuck…?” Michael muttered.

“It’s me, Micool. I’m here! I made the glass fall. Work it out!” Gavin begged, crouching down next to Michael and touching his arm.

Michael hissed, pulling his arm back and staring at the space Gavin was crouching.

“I’m going mad.” 

“No. No, no Michael! You’re not going mad. It’s me. Please. Hear me.” Gavin’s heart was in his throat as he hoped Michael could hear him.

Michael begun to clear up the glass, ignoring Gavin’s desperate cries for Michael to hear him.

* * *

The next morning, Gavin watched as Michael pulled Ray aside.

“Hey, Ray. I have a dumb question and you’re gonna think I’m going mad.”

Ray shrugged, “We’re all mad, bro. What’s up?”

“Do you believe in ghosts? Or, like, supernatural shit? ‘Cause I swear I am being haunted.”

Ray blinked. Gavin watched as Ray tried to process whether Michael was shitting with him.

“Uh, I can’t say I do believe in that stuff. Why do you think you’re being haunted? Who do you think it is?”

Michael chewed his lip, “I keep feeling like someone is touching me. Like, someone’s hand on me.”

Ray’s eyebrows comically rose, “Dude, I don’t need to know about some ghost feeling you up,” He joked warily.

“Fuck off Ray, you know I didn’t mean it like that. Just, someone keeps touching my arm. I even feel his fingers. And it’s warm. Like, it feels fucking real, and I dunno,” Michael ran his hands through his curly hair, “I look over and there’s no one there and the touch fades.”

“He?” Ray prompted, and Michael swallowed.

“It’s dumb. Maybe it’s ‘cause I miss him so much but… I just think it’s Gavin. Like he’s with me and trying to communicate.”

Ray didn’t look convinced, and Michael pushed further, “Last night I was playing on the Xbox when there was a smash. I turned around and there was a glass on the floor. A glass that had been in the middle of my dining table. There was no one there, but the glass was in pieces. And… when I bent down, something fucking touched me again.”

There was a long pause. Ray studied Michael for a long time, before he sighed.

“You think Gavin is haunting you? Like. He’s dead?”

Michael gritted his teeth, “I don’t want to think that. You fucking know I don’t Ray. But this only started when Gav when missing.”

“Mate, maybe you’re just hoping he’s there. Maybe it’s psychological?”

Gavin sighed. Ray, the voice of reason. 

“That doesn’t explain the broken glass! I didn’t imagine that. Look, I even cut my finger clearing it up,” Michael waved his cut finger under Ray’s nose.

“Stuff like that happens. Maybe you left it on the edge without realising. I’m not judging, Michael. When something as shit as this happens, people begin grasping onto straws to try and think that they’re still there. Maybe this is like that. Maybe you’re just wishing so hard to see Gavin again…”

Michael had had enough. He walked back into the office, leaving Ray behind.

“If only you could feel me as well,” Gavin sighed, placing a hand on Ray’s shoulder. Ray suddenly shrugged, as though he had actually felt Gav’s hand. Looking around, Ray frowned, before shaking his head.

“God, I’m going nuts as well,” Ray murmured, before following Michael back into the office.

* * *

Michael didn’t breathe a word of what happened the night before with anyone. However Gavin could see that his touches were affecting the red-haired lad. He kept flinching as Gavin touched him, and his heart raced as he saw Michael was becoming more and more aware of Gavin’s presence.

This time, as soon as Michael stepped foot through his apartment door, he turned around.

“Gav, if that’s you. Do something. Anything. Just tell me if it’s you.”

Gavin froze. He had no idea how to control his power. He had no idea how to make stuff move under his hand, or why Michael could sometimes feel his touches. But now Michael was expecting it and Gavin felt as though he was under pressure.

His mind was suddenly blank. What could he do that he could guarantee Michael would be able to feel it? Suddenly, he had an idea. An insane idea, but an idea nonetheless.

“Oh god,” Gavin said, standing in front of Michael, “Well… here goes nothing, eh?”

Cupping Michael’s face in his hands, Gavin leaned forward and pressed his lips against Michael’s. Gavin always figured lips were pretty sensitive areas of the body, so perhaps Michael was more likely to feel this.

Michael tensed under the kiss. He stared, eyes wide, at the space in front of him. When Gavin pulled away, Michael’s whole body was trembling.

“Gav?” Michael whispered, touching his fingers to his lips.

“You felt it! You bloody felt it!” Gavin cried, punching the air.

“You just fucking _kissed_ me?! Or am I going mad?” Michael begun to pace the room, and Gavin just watched as Michael got increasingly confused.

“Well. I wasn’t expecting to be kissing you when I was invisible,” Gavin remarked dryly, “I had at least hoped we could both see each other.”

Gavin had been questioning his feelings for Michael for months before his disappearance, and he’d gone and screwed it up by sharing their first kiss while he was invisible. Not the ideal way to start, but at least Michael had felt it.

The rest of the night was Michael trying to get Gavin to do stuff. Touch him, hold this pen, break another glass, turn off the lights. Gavin tried his best to fulfil Michael’s requests, but nothing seemed to be working. Michael’s enthusiasm faded when he realised he was just talking to himself, and probably imagined the kiss.

“Damnit,” Gavin muttered as he watched Michael get ready for bed.

That night, a downtrodden Gavin decided to go back to his own apartment. He hadn’t been back since Michael and Ryan had first inspected it. The door had since been locked, but Gavin had a key in his pocket. Unlocking it, Gavin shivered at the chill in the air. The room was dark, and Gavin flicked on the lights. He was exhausted, but he wanted to look around for any clues on why he had turned invisible in the first place.

For about an hour, Gavin searched his apartment high and low. All the dishes had since been washed, probably to prevent the stench of rotting food. Someone had cleared out his fridge and cupboards of any perishable food. However, Gavin found no clues on why he had disappeared.

Exhausted, Gavin finally trudged into his bedroom and fell asleep.

When morning came, Gavin felt strange. Like something was different. However, he couldn’t put his finger on it. Instead, he climbed out of bed, got ready, and left the apartment.

He walked the usual way to work, which he hadn’t walked since the day he’d gone missing. Finally, he arrived at the offices. He was late, but it didn’t matter, seeing as no one could see him.

Gavin walked through the front doors to find the hallway was empty. Shrugging, he walked to the usual Achievement Hunter office and opened the door.

A few heads looked up, and Gavin frowned. No one usually noticed Gavin opening the door.

Suddenly there was a loud “Holy _fucking_ shit!” And everyone was now staring at Gavin.

“Oh.” 

Everyone was up in an instant. Geoff reached Gavin first and pulled him into a tight hug. Gavin choked for breath, but returned the hug eagerly. Damnit, he’d missed hugs.

He took it in turn to hug each of his friends, breathing in their scents and basking in their warmth.

Once the hugs were done, Geoff gripped his shoulder and looked him in the eye, “Where the fuck have you been, Gav?”

And oh fuck, Gavin was screwed. Because where the hell had he been? He’d been invisibly stalking everyone for the past few weeks. As though anyone would believe that.

“Uh…” Gavin stared at the expectant eyes, and he had no idea what to say, “I don’t… I really don’t want to talk about it.” Be vague. Vague as possible.

Geoff looked crestfallen.

“I’m calling the police. We need to tell them Gav’s been found,” Jack said, phone to his ear.

“Gav?” Michael was staring at him strangely, “Gav why can’t you tell us where you went? What happened? We tried calling, texting, but nothing was getting through.”

Gavin felt cornered. He needed an explanation, but there was nothing he could think of. He could lie, say he was kidnapped, but then the police would be looking for a fake kidnapper. He couldn’t let the police waste their time like that. Similarly, he could tell the truth and look as though he had gone insane. He could say he ran away, needed space. But that would be awful. He could get fired for making everyone worried sick, or worse, arrested for wasting police time.

“Please, Michael,” Gavin whispered quietly, “Please don’t ask.”

That shut him up, and Gavin had to look away Michael’s hurt expression.

The police arrived to question Gavin, but he refused to answer any of their queries. They offered counselling and Gavin shook his head. They asked if he needed to go to hospital. He shook his head. They finally gave up, but Gavin overheard them speaking to Geoff.

“If he finally chooses to speak, please let us know. He could be traumatised, or perhaps trying to cover for the kidnapper, or possibly he is scared. Keep an eye on him.”

Gavin clenched his fist. He understood why the police would think that, but it pissed him off that he couldn’t tell the truth.

That day, Gavin had more hugs than he could ever remember receiving. He also got a lot of wet shoulders from their tears. Either way, he was happy. He called his parents and Dan to let them know he was okay, but quickly avoided any questions on what had happened to him. He trusted Dan, but knew that his British friend still wouldn’t believe a word he’d say. Everyone would think he was just deluded or repressing a traumatic experience.

Sighing, Gavin was about to get up and leave when Geoff grabbed his arm.

“You’re coming home with me,” Geoff said.

“Why?”

“Because I’m worried about you and I think you’ve been alone for too long.”

Gavin breathed out and let Geoff guide him to the car. Secretly, he was pleased that Geoff wasn’t letting him go back to his empty apartment. He was worried, however, that Geoff would try to pester him for answers. Geoff was a stubborn bastard.

When they arrived back at the Ramsey household, he was all too glad to embrace an enthusiastic Griffon.

“We missed you, Gav,” She said, touching his cheek tenderly.

Gavin blushed, before letting himself be steered into the living room.

* * *

After dinner, Gavin was sitting on his bed when Geoff walked in and sat beside him. The mattress creaked and dipped under his weight.

“Whatever happened to you, Gav, you know we are all here for you, right?” Geoff said quietly, wrapping an arm around Gavin’s shoulders, “We were worried sick. I am glad you’re alright but I’m still worried you’re keeping something big from us. If someone hurt you, we need to know about it. Everyone loves you, Gav.”

Gav’s eyes prickled. He remembered the sobbing Geoff from a few weeks ago, and soon had his arms wrapped around his friend.

“I am so sorry, Geoff,” Gavin choked out, “I don’t have any explanation. I’m sorry.”

Geoff just held Gavin as he cried. He cried for all those days he saw his friends grieve for him. He cried for all the times he longed to be held.

“I missed you,” Gavin sniffed once he pulled away, and Geoff just shared a watery smile with him.

* * *

Everyone appeared to be walking on eggshells when they were around Gavin. They treated him like he was made of glass. It wasn’t surprising, as he had been missing for months without an explanation. Everyone was expecting him to break.

But he didn’t break. He returned to his usual self very quickly.

Sure, maybe he held onto hugs a little longer, but that was only natural.

Staying at Geoff’s house was brilliant. He had missed the banter they had, and Gavin didn’t think he’d be able to bear his apartment again. The rooms were too quiet, and he was afraid when he woke up, no one would be able to see him again.

Two weeks after his return, Michael approached him and slung his arm around his shoulders.

“Hey boi,” He drawled, “Fancy a gaming night? Bevs, Xbox, pizza?” 

Gavin beamed in response, “I’d love to, Micool!”

Since Gavin had come back, he hadn’t advanced on the kiss he’d delivered when he had gone invisible. If anyone were to believe his invisibility, it would be Michael. Gavin had practically stalked Michael in those months he was missing.

The evening arrived and Gavin got in the car with Michael, who began to drive the familiar route back to his apartment.

“I’ve missed this,” Gavin commented, “It’s been awhile.”

Michael nodded in response as they pulled up and got out of the car. Once they were inside, the lads ordered pizza, cracked open the bevs and began to play some games.

As they got increasingly drunker and drunker, Michael began to loosen up.

“I fucking missed you like crazy, Gav,” He admitted, voice thick from alcohol, “I was starting to hallucinate. I should’ve kicked your ass for disappearing like that.”

Gavin just stared at him with wide eyes as Michael ploughed on.

“Thought you were dead. Thought you were haunting me. It felt so fucking real. Ray thought I was going mad.”

“You weren’t going mad,” Gavin said quietly, and Michae’s eyes flashed to him.

“What?” He said, suddenly sounding a little more sober.

“Well you weren’t, were you? You thought I was dead, and grief does crazy stuff, innit? There’s probably a reasonable explanation for the glass smashing.”

Suddenly, Michael was in his face.

“How do you know about the glass?” He asked, voice low, and bugger, Gavin forgot about that bit. He’d had too many bevs.

“Uh. Uh, Ray told me!” Gavin lied, and Michael was shaking his head.

“No he didn’t. You’re lying. _How did you know, Gavin?!_ ”

And Gavin suddenly felt cornered, with no escape but the truth.

“You’d never believe me if I told you!” He laughed nervously, and Michael just stared at him with serious eyes.

“Try me.”

Gavin could’ve lied, but he was sick of lying. He’d been sitting on the truth for too long, and it was driving him crazy. And so Gavin tried. Gavin explained waking up that fateful morning and being ignored by everyone. He explained trying to call Geoff, and then going with Michael and Ryan to his apartment. He explained managing to touch Michael and him reacting to the touches. He explained the glass on the table, and how he kissed him to try and make him feel it.

By the end of it, Gavin felt frazzled. Michael was silent for a long time as he was trying to process what Gavin had just said.

“See, I told you you wouldn’t believe it.”

Michael shook his head, “Gav, how could I not believe it? You explained things that happened to me, and I didn’t tell anyone about that kiss. Fuck, Gavin. You fucking idiot. Why… why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Gavin shouldn’t have been so surprised that Michael was so accepting of this, “I dunno. I was scared, I guess. It’s not normal, is it? But you responded to me and I just wanted you to hear me so bad. I was so alone for those months, Michael.”

“This is insane,” Michael shook his head, still looking thoroughly confused, but Gavin could tell he believed him.

Michael moved forward and wrapped his arms around his boi, holding him tight. Gavin sighed and held onto him, burying his face into his shoulder. Gavin still woke, fearing he wouldn’t be seen, but for now he savoured the moments he could be seen.

Pulling away a little, Michael stared into Gavin’s eyes, “Got any explanation for the kiss?” Michael asked with a smile playing on his lips.

“Oh. Uh. Not really. It was in the spur of the moment, y’know?” He stammered, a blush creeping up his neck.

“Would you have kissed anyone else?” Michael asked, looking hopeful.

Gavin felt his cheeks go hot, “Probably not? You’re my boi, Micool.” 

“I wish I could’ve seen you.”

“We can arrange that…” Gavin replied, growing in confidence.

Gavin leaned forwards, meeting Michael’s lips for a second time.

* * *

It would be years later before Gavin would no longer fear waking up invisible. He would be haunted by nightmares for months after the incident.

However, he had Michael to soothe his shaking body as he relayed his fears. Gavin was lucky to have someone who understood. 

It would be years before Michael would stop freaking out when he woke to an empty bed. There would be many times he would rush into the kitchen, frantically looking for his boyfriend, only to discover he was at the stove, failing to cook eggs. 

They never will find out why Gavin disappeared for those few months, or why he came back, but Michael will always tease Gavin that it was their true love’s kiss that brought him back.

He may or may not be right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was my first fanfiction for this fandom and I was so worried! But thank you to all the kudos and comments I have received. You have no idea how much this means to me. I hope to write more in the future (and if anyone has any ideas or prompts, feel free to message me, I am open to ideas).


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